


If Redemption Still Exists

by Annide



Series: 1998, or the year everything changed [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Baby Teddy Lupin, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Harry Potter Raises Teddy Lupin, M/M, Past Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Redeemed Draco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-22
Updated: 2016-04-13
Packaged: 2018-04-22 19:56:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4848422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annide/pseuds/Annide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco seeks Harry's help to redeem himself and free his mind of the poisonous way of thinking he was raised in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Instead of following one character like the other fics in this series, this one follows three: Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott and Harry Potter.

The Battle of Hogwarts and the ending of the war turned Draco’s world upside down. Though he did try to regain his family’s honour by making an attempt to stop Harry from getting this diadem he didn’t even know served what purpose, he had to switch sides later on, when it became clear Death Eaters didn’t trust him anymore.

            When it was all over, Draco simply sat in the Great Hall with his parents, exhausted from two years that had been nothing if not incredibly difficult. After a year of having the honour to be in the Inquisitorial Squad and finally seeming to get an edge over Potter, the incidents at the end of his fifth year had been the start of an inevitable descent.

At first, he had thought being given the task of assassinating Dumbledore was a perfect chance to prove himself as worthy to Voldemort. After several failures though, he couldn’t help feeling desperate and coming to the realisation that this was the point all along, for him to fail, as a punishment for his father’s mistakes. He was angry all the time and felt a burning jealousy for Harry, everyone’s little favourite. He had hoped his success into bringing about the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, and therefore allowing for Dumbledore’s murder, would’ve brought back things to the way they were, but it seemed there was no coming back for the Malfoys.

            Draco spent his last school year in Hogwarts, as planned. His parents were now the laughingstock of Death Eaters and the Carrows never failed to mention it when they ran into each other in the castle’s hallways. Despite this, he managed to keep his friends and go along things as usual. He discussed with others of how great it was that Voldemort was in power and that Dumbledore was replaced by Snape. Everything was going smoothly, and with Harry Potter’s absence, he didn’t have to worry as much about any trouble, though Potter’s remaining friends at Hogwarts did stir up some regularly.

            During Easter break, Draco found his allegiance to the Death Eaters wasn’t as solid as they would all believe. Harry Potter and his friends were taken prisoners. However, Harry’s face was so screwed up, only Draco could identify him with certainty. He found the task wasn’t as easy as he would’ve thought. He could easily see that it was in fact Potter in front of him, but for some reason, unknown by even himself, he couldn’t get himself to confirm it for Bellatrix. So he lied.

            He spent the next few weeks confined into the manor with his parents, because the whole family had become a disgrace for the movement after the Trio’s escape. Draco had a lot of time to think and he couldn’t stop wondering why he hadn’t been able to expose Harry. Didn’t he hate the boy? Didn’t he want him dead as much as any of the Death Eaters? What did this mean for his place alongside Voldemort’s followers? Did he still belong with them?

            After the end of the war, Draco found himself feeling lost. He didn’t have to go back to Hogwarts as he had done most of the year and only went one more week to pass his NEWTs. It had become clear to him he had spent his entire life on the wrong side of the conflict and now he couldn’t just keep living like this. He doubted what his parents had taught him about muggleborns being lesser, or wizards being superior to those who couldn’t do magic. He had no idea where to go from there.

 

           Draco knew Harry Potter had recently been hired as an auror. So, one afternoon, he went to the Ministry of Magic and hung out by the fountain. They had removed the one that had been there during the war. Now you could see Harry Potter standing surrounded by representatives of different species. They had made this the day after the Battle of Hogwarts. The ministry didn’t lose any time making sure they had a nice fountain statue to ornate their entrance hall, and they couldn’t keep the one put there during Voldemort’s reign.

            “Potter!”

            Harry was walking towards the fireplaces when Draco finally saw him. The young auror turned at the sound of his name and couldn’t stop an expression of surprise from appearing on his face.

            “What do you want, Malfoy?”

            “I just want to talk to you. Somewhere less public maybe?”

            “Talk about what?”

            “I was wrong, okay? I’ve been raised to believe that purebloods were superior and mudbloods were a threat to us. And those past two years I had to try and help my family, you understand? I can see now I was on the wrong side of the war, I’m glad yours won, and you have no reason to trust me, but I need your help.”

            “My help? To do what?”

            “I need to change. I don’t like the values I was raised with. I look back on my life and I realise I haven’t been… I made a lot of mistakes, Potter. I just want to redeem myself.”

            “You might want to start by eliminating the word mudblood from your vocabulary.”

            “Does that mean you’ll help me?”

            “Sure. There is more to winning that war than simply killing the leader of the opposite clan, like helping people change their view of the world. And that’s the least I can do, must not have been easy for you to come to me asking for help.”

            “It’s nothing compared to what’s waiting for me when my parents learn about this.”

            “If you really want to get away from this way of thinking your parents have and stop being around people with this dangerous mindset, you can always move into my house, I have a lot of space and wouldn’t mind some company.”

            “You would do that? Let me into your home after all the terrible things I’ve done to you?”

            “I guess I know what it feels like not knowing where to turn, like no one is on your side. We’ve all been struggling since the Battle. A lot of what we knew changed and it’s gonna take some time to get used to. You’ll have to help me clean the house though. There’s a lot of stuff everywhere. It was also abandoned for years and it needs some work to make it a proper home.”

            “That’s fair. What about that Weasley girl though? Will she be okay with this?”

            Draco saw sadness fill Harry’s eyes when he spoke of the youngest Weasley child.

            “Ginny and I broke up.” Harry simply said before turning around, resuming his way toward the fireplaces.

            Draco stayed where he was, unsure if he should follow or give the man some space. He hadn’t realised the aftermath of the war could also be hard on those from the winning side.

            “You coming? Or would you prefer if I gave you the address and you joined me later?”

           

* * *

 

            Later, when Draco came back to the manor to get his things, Theodore was sitting on the steps that led to the front door. He jumped up as soon as he saw the young Malfoy.

            “Are you okay? I haven’t heard from you since the Battle. I’ve been worried sick about you, I thought you might be dead.”

            “I’m fine, Nott. I’m sorry, I should’ve contacted you. I’ve just been kind of a mess lately.”

            “I get it, but it’s been a month and I didn’t even know if you were still alive.”

            “I’m really sorry.”

            Draco put his arms around Theodore who let his head fall on his shoulder. He’d missed this proximity, he’d missed the feeling of Nott’s arms wrapping around his middle, as if those hands were meant to rest on his lower back.

            “Do you want to come in and help me pack? I’m moving.”

            “This is good news. You need to get away from Lucius.”

            “I’m glad you think that.”

            Draco grabbed Theodore’s hand and led him to his bedroom. They spent the afternoon packing stuff, sometimes throwing clothes at each other, taking long breaks to kiss and laughing like they hadn’t done in a long time. They somehow managed, with the help of an enchantment cast by Theodore, to put everything in four suitcases. After having dinner with the Malfoys, Nott waited outside while Draco said goodbye to his parents, who weren’t exactly on board with the moving out idea.


	2. Chapter 2

            They apparated in Grimmauld Place just as the sun started to set. Theodore let the suitcases down on the sidewalk.

            “It’s hard to believe you’ll live with Potter. You two didn’t exactly get along at Hogwarts.”

            “I’m trying to change. I don’t want to become my father, and who better to help me than Potter?”

            “I understand, I was just pointing out the irony.”

            At this moment, a house appeared between two others with Harry Potter’s head coming out of the first floor’s window.

            “Are you coming in or what, Malfoy? I heard you arrive a while ago.”

            You could hear some annoying high pitched noise behind him. Was Draco going crazy or did it sound a lot like a crying baby?

            “Your friend can come in too, but just hurry. And fair warning, there’s a charm inside that I can’t seem to figure out how to get rid of.”

            Draco and Theodore shared a look and made their way to the door. They’d barely taken a step inside that their tongue stick to their palate, among other things. Nott called Harry down and all three of them together managed to get rid of this unpleasant thing. Theodore had after all paid a lot more attention in class than either of the others and didn't have as much on his mind as Hermione had the year before. The knowledge Draco had learned from Lucius, Bellatrix and other Death Eaters helped them solve the problem of Sirius’ mother’s portrait as well.

            “Thanks, I’ve been trying to get rid of that for a while, but Hermione’s in Australia and I’ve been really busy with work and, well this.”

            You could still hear a wailing sound coming from upstairs and Harry vaguely pointed in the direction it was coming from.

            “Do I know you?” He asked as he turned back toward Theodore.

            “I’m Theodore Nott, we had classes together at Hogwarts. I’m Draco’s boyfriend.”

            “Oh, nice to meet you, Theodore.”

            “Okay, now that you two have acquainted, can you explain the crying baby?”

            “Oh yeah, right. Why don’t you come upstairs so I can make this stop while I talk?”

            The three boys climbed the stairs to the first floor where a purple haired baby lay crying in a playpen. Harry picked him up in his arms and rocked him slowly, in a way that looked strangely natural.

            “Where did you get a baby anyway, Potter?”

            “Remember Remus Lupin, our third year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor? That's his son, Teddy. His parents both died in the Battle of Hogwarts and, as the godfather, I ended up with him. But Andromeda Tonks has been helping out, she's always happy to babysit when I work, so you shouldn’t have to worry about him or anything. Sorry, I should’ve told you about this before you decided to move in here.”

            “Yeah, you should’ve, but you’re still doing me a big favour here. I honestly didn’t think you’d actually agree to help me.”

            “A lot of people have been struggling since the war ended. I myself just lost my girlfriend. I need distractions and I guess I want to help out as much as I can. I did play a pretty important part in this war after all.”

            “You didn’t really have a choice in this. Neither of you did really.”

            “I didn’t exactly do all this against my will, Theo.”

            “But you were raised into this. It doesn’t excuse anything, but you grew up with those ideals, you were surrounded by friends who all expected to become death eaters later in life, like their parents did."

            "You have a Death Eater for a father too and you didn't participate in the Battle or anything."

            "My dad isn't Lucius Malfoy."

            "That works out perfectly cause otherwise doing this would feel weird."

            Draco gave a quick kiss to Theodore and the three boys burst into laughter. It felt good to put stuff in the past and just laugh it off.

            After they had dinner and Teddy had been put to bed, they kept talking late into the night. When Theodore started looking like he could barely stay awake, his eyes closing, his head on Draco’s shoulder, yawns leaving his mouth at regular intervals, Harry offered him to stay.

            “I’ve got plenty of room if you want to crash here. Unless your parents are expecting you home.”

            “My mom died years ago. No one’s waiting for me.”

            “What about your dad?”

            Draco knew his boyfriend didn’t like talking about it, so he answered for him.

            “No one’s heard from Theo’s dad since the battle of Hogwarts. He’s probably hiding somewhere, a lot of Death Eaters are.”

            “Or he’s dead. I’d think he would’ve written me otherwise.”

            Harry seemed to get the hint because he got up and offered a hand to Theodore.

            "Come, I'll show you a room you can stay in, I assume you'll want to share? I have rooms with separate beds if you prefer."

            "Sharing will be just fine, Potter."

            Harry led them to a room on the last floor of the house.

            "Here. This was Sirius' brother Regulus' room. He was a Death Eater who changed his mind and went after a horcrux, but Voldemort figured it out and killed him before it went the other way around. I think this room is a great fit for you both, don't you?"

            Draco and Theodore glanced around the room at all the Slytherin colours on the furniture.

            "It's perfect." Nott said.

            "Good, then I'll wish you both a good night. I'll be in the next room if you need anything."

            They watched Harry go, closing a door labeled Sirius behind him, before they went in. Draco couldn’t help thinking these last few years must’ve been hard for Harry as well, and he never even realized it, so focused on himself as he’d always been.

 

* * *

 

            A wonderful smell of food woke them the next morning. They got dressed and started down the stairs. When Harry joined them, Teddy in his arms, Theodore inquired.

            "It smells great, what's for breakfast?"

            "I don't know, haven't gone down yet. Kreacher's cooking is always great though."

            "Kreacher?"

            Theodore and Draco's question was answered when they entered the kitchen and a house elf dressed in distinguished clothes, which clearly used to be men clothing that had been adjusted to Kreacher’s size, with an apron on top, put plates full of pancakes, bacon and fruit on the table.

            "Slept well, Mr. Potter?"

            "Yes, thank you, Kreacher. Everything looks delicious."

            Draco had trouble believing what he was seeing.

            "You have a house elf? You?"

            "I needed help around the house after I freed him so I offered him to work for me. I pay him and everything. I also wanted to buy him clothes that fit him, but he insisted on taking Regulus’ old ones. And he wouldn’t leave this house anyway, so it’s a perfect situation for both of us."

            They ate in silence for a while, simply enjoying a peaceful morning together, getting used to each other's company. After all, Draco hoped his boyfriend would spend a lot of time there too.

            "Hey, Kreacher," Theodore asked, "could you make a cake for tonight's dinner, please? It's Draco's birthday."

            They spent the entire day in the living room, all three of them. Harry talked about how they saw things on his side, with the love of muggleborns and absence of the need for blood purity. Theodore and him discussed it at length, turned out the solitary Slytherin was pretty interested in that too. Draco mostly listened while taking in the sight of his boyfriend holding a baby. He could see their future, now that the war was over, they could build a life together and have their own family. It had been hard to ask for help, and he was glad it went well and Harry had accepted, but he still had trouble with the whole thing and still felt that muggleborns shouldn't be seen as equals to purebloods. Being of a family that had been wizards for generations and generations had to count for something.

            When the sun started to set, they went back down to the kitchen where a cake, way too big for three people, lay in the center of the table. It was green and silver with two chocolate snakes forming the words 'happy birthday'. Kreacher had also prepared all of Draco's favourite foods, which he'd learned about from Theodore during lunch. For an evening, they all forgot how weird their lives are turned out.

            The next day, they decided to walk around London a bit and go to Diagon Alley. It was a sunny and fairly warm day, typical of early June. They were only the three of them because Teddy's grandmother had decided to bring the baby to visit other relatives. Harry enjoyed getting a day off like this, no work, no baby, no responsibilities.

            "You're Nott's son, aren't you?"

            A man interrupted them as they entered Diagon Alley.

            "Yes, why?"

            "That bastard killed my entire family and now, I can get my revenge! Sectumsempra!"

            It all happened too fast for any of them to react in time. Neither Harry nor Draco expected to be attacked like this, in broad daylight, after the war was over. No one was on their guard anymore. Theodore fell to the ground, Draco following the movement, his knees hitting the floor as harshly as his boyfriend's body did. Harry and him both tried all they could to save Nott, but the blood spilling out too fast. Theodore's eyes locked into Draco's, both pairs full of tears. Harry was left standing there, trying to see where the man had gone, but he had disappeared in the crowd.

            Draco fell on his boyfriend's chest, devastated, covered in blood, as soon as life left Theodore's body. How could they have been so naive to think that all this pain and anger would simply go away because the war was over? People had been hurt and they wanted someone to pay for it. It wasn't enough for them that Voldemort was dead and most Death Eaters locked up in Azkaban. It didn't fix what had been broken. But neither would revenge.


	3. Chapter 3

            Summer went by slowly. Harry was busy with work and taking care of Teddy. After failing to find Theodore’s killer, Draco just mopped around the house. At first, Harry tried to help him, make him feel better, force him to leave Regulus’ room, but by July he had given up. He had to juggle his new career as an auror with being the single parent to a baby, he couldn’t waste efforts on someone who wasn’t ready to get help. Kreacher took over though. And saying no to a house elf wasn’t an easy thing to do. Draco might refuse to go downstairs to eat and insisted to be brought food in Regulus’ room, but Kreacher let him starve for a day or two and, when the boy still wouldn’t leave the room, the house elf dragged him down himself.

            Harry was playing with Teddy in early October when Draco joined them. He was wearing sweat pants, looked like he hadn’t showered in days and his eyes were puffy like he hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night. He let himself fall to the floor next to Harry.

            “I can’t be alone today. It’s his birthday.”

            He barely managed to say the sentence before tears started streaming down his face. Harry took him in his arms.

            “It’s okay, we’ll stay with you. Cry, Hermione says it helps to let all the feelings out like this.”

            Draco listened to him and cried until his eyes were dry. Through the years, Harry had gotten used to seeing him giving an impression of strength, never showing weakness as he bullied other kids. Holding a vulnerable, broken Draco reminded him of that time he'd found him crying in the bathroom. At the time, Draco had been on the defensive, they fought and it ended badly, but it was different now. Draco didn't need to hide anymore, he could let his guard down around Harry. They were on the same side now.

            Kreacher brought them sandwiches and pumpkin juice in the living room at lunch and Draco ate with appetite for the first time in months. Crying had drained him of energy.

            "You need to find something to fill your days, Draco. Otherwise, you'll go crazy staying here thinking about Theodore all the time. I'm sure he'd want you to be happy."

            "Yeah, I'm sure the ones you love would want the same for you."

            "My days are filled. I have work and Teddy. I chase dark wizards six days a week and then I come home and take care of the baby."

            "You have the opposite problem than I do. You've been burying yourself with work since the war ended. Let's face it, this six days a week thing is a lie. Today is your first day off in months, and I'm sure you were planning on stopping by your office later on."

            The look on Harry's face proved that theory right. Harry had been working a lot so he wouldn't have time to think about all the people who died for him and it'd been worse since Theodore's death, because he was trying to avoid the sight of Draco's grief.

            "You have to start taking weekends off. Just spend time here with Teddy and I. I'll find something to fill my week and you will send Teddy to his grandmother one weekend a month so you have time for yourself. Deal?"

            "I... Fine, deal."

            Draco had to get reacquainted with the world. A world that had changed since the war, where the purity of blood didn't matter as much. He visited his parents around Halloween and they were glad to finally see him again. They'd heard about Theodore, of course, but nothing from their son. They'd been very worried about him and how he was doing after his boyfriend died. They tried to convince him to come back home, but Draco refused. Harry was helping him get back on his feet. Slowly, Draco was getting rid of his parent's ways, becoming a better, more open-minded person. He also spent a lot of time taking care of Teddy.

            Harry was delegating more at work. He stopped volunteering to be the one to go after every remaining Death Eater they heard about. His free weekends allowed him to spend more time with Ron, Hermione and Neville. He realized he still had people and should stop putting so much energy on not thinking about all the ones he lost to concentrate on the living instead. Helping Draco turned out to be good for him too, it gave him purpose, even more than being an auror did. After all these years fighting different threats, like Quirrell, the basilisk, Umbridge, Voldemort and the Triwizard's Tournament tasks, he needed something to overcome again. Something easier, like helping Draco become a better man, so Harry could gradually let go of all of this.

            Teddy learned to crawl in late November. Harry and Draco were so proud and happy. They started jumping around and dancing and, somehow, their lips ended up touching. Later, neither of them would remember who started the kiss, all they knew was Draco had been the one to stop it. It lasted a few minutes, but in the end, they had to admit they couldn't keep it going. It was too soon.

            "I can't do this. Believe me, I do want this to happen, but I'm not ready yet."

            Harry understood. He had moved on from Ginny completely, but they had been reunited for less than a month after the war and she was still alive. Draco had been with Theodore for years and even before that, they'd been friends since childhood. That wasn't the kind of loss you could just forget about in a few months. Moving on wasn't even a consideration at this point.

            "This doesn't change anything though, right? You'll stay here with Teddy and I? It'll still be the same. And you can tell me when you're ready for this to become something more."

            "Sounds good."

            Harry and Draco smiled at each other for a while. It was hard to believe they'd taken this decrepit house and made it a home. And as they fixed this place, they'd done the same for themselves. They started off two broken man with an orphan baby, simply living together, and they'd become a family. Now, they were full of hope. Not exactly ready to take the next step, but hopeful that the day would come for them to be happy, together.


End file.
